Reading this thread has really kind of made me cringe. Now I suppose most people would just say I am defending my own decision to go to (an expensive public) university, but I've set myself aside.
While school truly does suck, you would be surprised by how much better it does get. And while this fantastic resource called the internet does greatly aide in learning on your own, I have encountered numerous homeschooled and self-taught students during my time at school and none of them seem nearly as adept as their peers. Working alone and learning that way is a fantastic foundation for your continued education, but spending the time and money to go to a real college is worth MUCH more than the cost of tuition, books and living. It means job security if BTC ever does crash. It means learning about something which truly interests you. It means meeting new people and spending time with people that, odds are, you will stay in touch with for the rest of your life.
Sitting here and typing now... When I graduate with my B.S. in Computer Engineering, Even if BTC are high enough for me to live the rest of my life not working a day, I will get a job. Because what I am learning about right now is something I have wanted to be a part of since I was little. And no amount of money could get me to say, "I no longer have an interest in how IC's fundamentally work, and how they run the world, and how I can create and implement them to help me and everyone I know."
So I guess I should probably say that my BTC exposure is quite a bit larger than yours, and I have a similar approach to just wait it out (while also increasing my BTC holdings), but my mom (parents are divorced) knows all about it. She knows my initial USD investment, and my current holdings, and is pretty up to date on their USD valuation (like that means anything).
So while you're spending your time reading, and thinking of traveling world, find something you're really interested in and decide to learn about that. I'm willing to bet that once you spend more time learning about something you really love, you would never just give it up.
Oh, and it's probably a good idea to tell your parents. Online account or not, they will get a monthly, or quarterly, or biannual or annual statement and they will wonder where the hell $4K+ went.
Ps. Don't say "$4k isn't a lot of money" unless you can, on a whim, come up with that much money yourself.
+millions
I am remarkably like you Chance
Also, tidbit from experience, I got my mom (parents divorced) involved. I got a lot more capital from her than the $2k tuition refund check (see school does have its benefits, you can take out dirty fiat loans for really cheap!) alone could've afforded me in Bitcoins.